Stone / Dogfish Head / Victory Saison du BUFF (Red Wine Barrel)

Brewed by Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Saison
Escondido, California USA

Serve in Tulip

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I like the base beer much better. Seems like it was left in the barrels too long. The bold tannins from the barrel dominate the beer.

500mL courtesy of HH84. Thanks! A: Cloudy copper with a firm 1" head. Stains the glass. No complaints here. N: Saison yeast mesh at the top of the nose. Dry, and earthy with some tannins. Can smell the rosemary and sage. Some pine nut character. Granny Smith apples. Not sure what to make of this, but it is definitely unique. T: Lots of spices. Strong rosemary and thyme presence. The sage is also well represented. It’s very tannic, yet I don’t get a lot of the wine flavor. Plenty of yeast character. Cedar woodiness. Some leather. Slightly sour. This leans pretty far to the bitter, biting side, as if stuffed with hops. Starts to really grate on me after too long. M: Well carbonated and very, very dry. O: A decently enjoyable beer for the first ten minutes. This is definitely in your face, and I’m not sure that’s a characteristic I want in a saison. I wish there was more wine character to tame the spices.

Bottle shared at RBWG. Nose shows lots of spice/floral/botanicals upfront, some oak, light vinous red wine notes. Flavor is similar and you can definitely taste the effects of the barrel, but like all of the base beers in this collab, the botanicals really run the show.

Bottle shared at RBWG! Pours a hazy straw yellow with fluffy white head and light lacing. Aroma of red wine, sour grapes, herbal spice, and a vegetal grassiness. Taste follows, complex but not very well balanced. Pretty decent, not sure if it’s really any better than the regular versions of this beer.

Bottle I picked up at Stone, shared with Jason and Dorrie. Pours a cloudy gold with thin off-white and lacing. Strong nose of spices - rosemary and sage really dominating. Some oak and vanilla. The taste follows suit. The oak did not do much to diminish the spices. The oak is subtle on the finish with a nice oak-y vanilla.

Bottle shared by cptnspeed1...thanks Brad! - Pours clear amber with a thin filmy white head. Spicy, minty florals, dry pale malt, and a touch of oak. Taste has more barrel--oaky pale malt, prominent spicing, and a grainy, sharp finish. Gentle body, thin with ample fluffy carbonation. Interesting beer, and real subtle on the barrel. This was definitely not a red wine-bomb.

500 ml corked and caged bottle courtesy of BMan1113VR (thanks Andrew) poured a hazy golden amber with a small lasting off white head. Aromas of straw, saghe, rosemary, light red wine and light oak. Palate was light bodied and crisp with a dry finish. Flavors of straw, sage, light rosemary, light oak and a hint of red wine with a crisp dry lingering herbal finish.

Bottle. Clear light pinkish golden with a fizzy white head. Really nice floral, rosemary, honey, red wine, grape, vanilla, and oak aroma. Tastes of floral honey, Rosemary, pomegranate, red wine, light caramel and vanilla and finishing with a sweet slightly oaky honey flavor. Smooth silky palate. Excellent.

UPDATED: DEC 25, 2012 Bottle... Hazy yellow ale with a small, creamy, white head. Decent retention. The nose is a spice-rack medley accompanied by a subtle nuance of vanilla. Medium-bodied with lively carbonation. The flavor is perfectly-balanced, but bland and boring all the same. There’s no acidity and no trace of the red wine barrel. Finishes grassy and lightly sweet. I was disappointed in this one. It seems the wine barrel removed all the interesting components I enjoyed in the untreated base beer without introducing anything of significance in return. In this case, the barrel was "all take" and "no give." Bottle courtesy of richiesd!

Trade. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. I like the wine aroma and flavors mixed with wood. It really adds a nice range of flavors to this brew. Some good tart fruits and spices and bread. I liked it.